City of Centralia Fairview Park Pool Committee met Oct. 11.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
City Hall
I. CALL TO ORDER – The meeting was called to order at 5:00 P.M.
II. ROLL CALL
_X_ Eric Collins _ X_ Jacy Keef
_X_ Amanda Marshall _X_ Mickey Martin
_X_ Stephanie Perez _X_ Jennifer Price
_X_ Robert “Spanky” Smith
Ex-Officio Members
_X_ Advisory Staff -Derek Sherman, Economic Development Director
III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - None
IV. MINUTES – None as this was the first meeting of this committee.
V. ONGOING BUSINESS – None as this was the first meeting of this committee.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
1. Welcome – Advisory Staff Derek Sherman introduced himself and that he has been stationed as the Advisory Staff member to this committee do to his familiarity with grants and his seven (7) years of experience working at the Fairview Park Pool. Additionally, Sherman wanted to extend the city’s gratitude to all the committee members for committing to this monthly committee meeting.
i. Introductions
1. Robert “Spanky” Smith: Spanky Smith stated that he is the City Council representative for this committee, he was the former City Recreation Director/Pool Director, and he wanted to help with this process & he is hoping to get something reestablished at Fairview but also our other city parks.
2. Stephanie Perez: She was a former lifeguard that started out at Fairview Park Pool in 2000, continued to work there for five (5) year under Spanky, and worked at the Recreation Center Pool as well.
3. Jacy Keef: She stated that she was a former lifeguard that worked at both Fairview Park Pool and the Rec. Center Pool under Spanky and Sonya Germann from the Recreation Center. She sits on the Board for the Recreation Complex, and they discussion a lot of pools issues as well due to the indoor pool at the Rec. Center. Also, she became a manager of the Fairview Park Pool and Advisory Staff Sherman was one of her employees as well as Jennifer’s daughters.
4. Amanda Marshall: Amanda stated, she is born and raised in Centralia. Currently, Amanda is the Principal of Schiller Elementary School in Centralia, so Amanda works daily with kids. Also, Amanda has two small children that enjoy pools/water parks, so they have traveled to multiple water attractions from Wisconsin to Florida.
5. Eric Collins: Eric stated that he is born and raised in Centralia, graduated from CHS, KC, & Indiana University of South Bend. His goal with being on the committee is to see a family-friendly facility in Fairview Park like the old round pool. Eric wants to give citizens an opportunity to splash around in the pool with their families especially since we have many retired citizens with grandchildren.
6. Jennifer Price: Jennifer stated that all her kids have worked at Fairview Park Pool and it was a great opportunity for a first job. Jennifer has grandchildren now that she has to haul over to Salem to swim. Jennifer is sad about the current pool situation because she remembers how the pool used to be. Jennifer mentioned that she used to go out to Fairview Park Pool and swim, but that there weren’t many pool patrons for some reason. Jennifer did mention that people used to only want a pool to swim in, but now people prefer fancy waterparks/equipment. Jennifer agreed with Eric that the pool needs to be family friendly and that we need to figure out a way to do it affordably.
7. Mickey Martin: Mickey stated that he worked for the city of Centralia for 36 years and took care of the Fairview Park Pool from the day the three new pools were installed until almost the day it was closed down. Mickey thinks that the city does need a pool for the youth of our city as families travel out of town to get to outdoor pools and gas has gotten expensive so a lot of people can’t afford to do that anymore. Also, we need to have something for the kids to visit.
ii. Purpose of Establishment of Pool Committee
1. Sherman wanted to make sure that all committee members and the public was aware of the purpose of establishing the Centralia Fairview Park Pool Committee. Sherman read verbatim from the establishing resolution: “Whereas, the City Council desires to establish a pool committee that will develop recommendations for the feasibility, location, size, cost, and type of facility and the committee will also develop recommendations for funding mechanisms to complete any proposed projects.” Sherman highlighted that the Committee is developing recommendations focused on the categories of feasibility, location, size, cost, type of facility, and funding mechanisms. Sherman asked if the committee members wanted a further explanation of these guidelines and which topic they want to discuss first. Collins stated that we should begin with feasibility, and ask if we were all in agreement that we need a pool in Centralia, and do all the committee members think the pool should stay in it’s current location. Amanda asked if there was any background of what could be done now, and Sherman stated that the Burbach study is thorough regarding all the current options. Smith stated that the city had Burbach out to look at the pool in 2010, 2012, & 2013 to do assessments at the pool as the city was pursuing the same funding that allowed Salem & Mt. Vernon to build their facilities. However, city administration at the time decided not to pursue a new vessel. Collins asked, if we are considering reestablishing the current pool or looking at a whole new pool? Sherman stated that all options are on the table and committee is here to help explore the options provide feedback on the options. Sherman stated some options could be: ripping out all the old pool infrastructure & not installing anything in it’s place, there is the option of ripping out the old pool & putting a new pool in place, there is the option of putting a new pool in another location, there is the option to rehab the old pool, or another option could be rip everything out and install something water related that isn’t a pool. Smith mentioned that the majority of new vessels are round, zero-entry vessels similar to the original Fairview Park Pool. Keef asked if a goal is to create something for a summer swim team as well. Smith said that is option for us to consider as well. Keef asked if we are aware of available grants out there to help fund this type of development. Sherman stated we are aware of one for sure, the OSLAD grant that would provide a maximum of $600,000 that comes up every year unless you receive then you must wait two years. Sherman said there are probably more out there in the private sector or nonprofit sector, but that he is not aware of at the moment. Price asked if there is the option to phase out a project, and Sherman answered that phasing is an option. Collins asked how much of the original bathhouse is there. Martin responded that all the original bathhouse is present at the site, but the new bathhouse was built on top of the old bathhouse. Jennifer did want to mention she is concerned about the daily fees to use the pool as Salem is $7.00 for a three-year old and those rates are too high for most of our community to utilize especially if you have multiple children. Marshall mentioned it was $36.00 for a family of four (4) to go to Mt. Vernon and it lightened before they got into the pool which caused the pool to close & Mt. Vernon did not provide them a refund. Collins thinks we will have a much better chance of getting the city and taxpayers on board if we focus on a family friendly pool as opposed to focusing on a pool for swim teams. Sherman stated that it sounds like the committee wants to start with feasibility, which is the direction we will proceed.
iii. Appointment of Chairperson
1. Advisory Staff Sherman requested the committee appoint a chairperson to help with committee needs and continue forward progress from the committee. Keef asked if anyone was interested in being the Chairperson for the committee. Collins made a motion to appoint Robert “Spanky” Smith as the Chairman as he has a wealth of knowledge on this topic. Jennifer concurred that Spanky would be a good option. This motion received a first from Martin and a second from Keef with six (6) committee members voting in favor (Collins, Keef, Marshall, Martin, Perez, & Price) and one (1) committee member opposed (Smith). With a majority of six to one, the motion carries and Robert “Spanky” Smith became the first Chairman of the Centralia Fairview Park Pool Committee. Smith thanked his fellow Committee members for their support.
iv. Assessment of Current Circumstances
1. Marshall asked what the timeline was for committee. Sherman said the resolution does not specify a timeline, but we probably do not want to take more than a year to formulate recommendations. Smith agreed that the Council and Mayor had wanted it to be done around eight (8) to ten (10) months as things are not getting more affordable. Collins asked if the committee’s findings would go before the public for input and Smith figures that it would probably end up needing a referendum for the citizens to vote on as the funding portion would probably require a sales tax levy increase. Price asked if we have access to the plans of the old pool, and Sherman was not sure if we had access to those plans, but he will see if he can find them. Martin commented that there is supposed to be a pool very similar to the old pool still in operation. Smith proposed inviting staff from Mt. Vernon and Salem to come to our meeting to discuss their redesigned pools and their process. Collins asked about Carlyle’s new pool, and Smith said he believes it is a redesign of their current pool with a new bathhouse and concession stand area.
2. Presentation of Burbach Aquatics, Inc: Report of the Technical Evaluation of Fairview Park Pool i. Sherman proceeded to distribute copies of the Burbach study with the intent of all the committee members to review and prepare for discussion at our next meeting.
VII. DISCUSSION
1. Next Meeting Agenda Items
i. Review of Burbach Study that was distributed at this meeting.
ii. Potential Speakers: Newly appointed Chairman Smith stated that he was going to look into getting some other municipalities to discuss their pool operations & new pool development.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT – Motion to adjourn the meeting: 1st Jennifer Price and 2nd Eric Collins. All present voted in favor of adjourning the meeting with none opposing.
https://cityofcentralia.org/vertical/sites/%7BFC680FE7-BE5C-4903-A103-67AF5EF51655%7D/uploads/10-_October_11_2022_minutes.pdf
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